Cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner for easy removal of contaminants from a grill assembly. The apparatus having a cyclone body connected to a suction port of the vacuum cleaner with an air inflow port and an air outflow port for forming a vortex of a contaminant-laden air drawn in through the air inflow port. A removable dust receptacle attached to the cyclone body. In the receptacle a grill assembly having a plurality of longitudinal slots is disposed at the air outflow port of the cyclone body. The grill assembly prevents a reverse flow of contaminants, and includes a contaminant removing member or sweeper movably mounted along the circumference of the grill body to remove contaminants collected on the grill. The movement of the sweeper is controlled by an external knob by a rack and pinion connection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a cyclone-dust collecting-apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner having a dust removing means for removing contaminants from a grill assembly easily.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Generally, a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner separates and collects contaminants from contaminant-laden air that is drawn into the cleaner through a suction port, by generating a vortex of air and using a centrifugal force from such generated vortex of air.

[0005] The U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,835 (application Ser. No. 09/388,532) issued Mar. 6, 2001 to the same applicant discloses a vacuum cleaner having such cyclone dust collecting apparatus.

[0006]FIG. 1 schematically shows the structure of the vacuum cleaner having the cyclone dust collecting apparatus of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,835. As shown in FIG. 1, the cyclone dust collecting apparatus includes a cyclone body 20, a dust receptacle 30 and a grill assembly 40.

[0007] The cyclone body 20 includes a first connection pipe 21 connected to a suction port extension pipe 1 a, a second connection pipe 22 connected to the cleaner body extension pipe 1 b, an air inflow port 23 interconnected with the first connection pipe 21, and an air outflow port 24 interconnected with the second connection pipe 22. In the cyclone body 20, the contaminant-laden air is drawn in through the air inflow port 23, forming a whirling current.

[0008] The dust receptacle 30 is removably connected to the cyclone body 20, and receives the contaminants separated from the air by the centrifugal force of the whirling air current of the cyclone body 20.

[0009] The grill assembly 40 is disposed at the air outflow port 24 of the cyclone body 20, to prevent a reversal flow of the collected contaminants through the air outflow port 24. The grill assembly 40 includes a grill body 41, a plurality of fine holes 42 formed in an outer circumference of the grill body 41 to form a passage to the air outflow port 24, and a contaminant reversal preventing plate 43 of conical shape formed at the lower end of the grill body 41.

[0010] In the general vacuum cleaner having the cyclone dust collecting apparatus constructed as described above, the contaminant-laden air is drawn in by a suction force that is generated at the suction port 2 of the vacuum cleaner, into the cyclone body 20 in a diagonal direction through the first connection pipe 21 and the air inflow port 23. The drawn air flows downward the cyclone body 20, forming a vortex air current (indicated in solid-lined arrow of FIG. 1). In this process, contaminants are separated from the air by the centrifugal force of the vortex air, and received in the dust receptacle 30.

[0011] As the air current hits against the bottom of the dust receptacle 30, the air flows in the reversal direction, i.e., it flows upward the cyclone body 20. The air then flows through the fine holes 42 of the grill assembly 40, the air outflow port 24 and the second connection pipe 22, and then discharged into the cleaner body 1 (indicated by a dot-lined arrow of FIG. 1). Some contaminants, floating in the upwardly moving air current, are hit against the contaminant reversal preventing plate 43 and thus reflected into the vortex air current. And the other contaminants, which are still entrained in the upwardly moving air current after the contaminant reversal preventing plate 43, are filtered out at the fine holes 42 of the grill assembly 40 as the air flows through the fine holes 42, and the filtered contaminants are fallen into the vortex air current.

[0012] Contaminants, which have not removed even after the fine holes 42, are discharged through the fine holes 42 and the air outflow port 24, but filtered out at the paper filter 4 of the cleaner body 1, and the clean air is discharged outside the vacuum cleaner via the motor chamber (not shown).

[0013] In the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner as described above, some contaminants being attached to the grill assembly 40 are avoidable when the contaminant-laden air is discharged through the fine holes 42 of the grill assembly 40. As time goes by, the contaminants are increasingly attached to the grill assembly 40, and finally clog the fine holes 42. As a result, problems like suction force deterioration and overload of the motor occur. Accordingly, the contaminants have to be removed from the fine holes 42 of the grill assembly 40 regularly. With the general cyclone dust collecting apparatus as described above, in order to remove the contaminants from the grill assembly 40, a user has to separate the dust receptacle 30 from the cyclone body 20 and remove the contaminants manually or by using a brush. Accordingly, grill assembly cleaning process becomes tricky. Also, since the grill assembly 40 is exposed during its cleaning, there is a high possibility that the contaminants floats in the air, contaminating the surrounding area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner in which contaminants are removed from a grill assembly easily with a dust receptacle being still in a mounted position, and also the contaminants removed from the grill assembly are collected in the dust receptacle so as to keep the surrounding area clean.

[0015] The above object is accomplished by a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, including a cyclone body comprising: a first connection pipe connected to an extension pipe adjacent to a suction port of the vacuum cleaner, a second connection pipe connected to the extension pipe adjacent to a body of the vacuum cleaner. The dust collecting apparatus has an air inflow port interconnected with the first connection pipe, and an air outflow port interconnected with the second connection pipe. The cyclone body is configured for forming a vortex with a contaminant-laden air that is drawn in through the air inflow port, and includes a dust receptacle removably connected to the cyclone body for receiving contaminants separated from the air by the vortex. Within the dust receptacle is a grill assembly disposed at the air outflow port of the cyclone body, the grill assembly having a plurality of longitudinal slots formed in an outer circumference of the grill body at a constant interval from each other to form a passage toward the air outflow port. The grill assembly prevents a reverse flow of contaminants collected in the dust receptacle through the air outflow port of the cyclone body. A contaminant removing member or sweeper which is movable along the outer circumference of the grill body is movable upward and downward to remove contaminants that become attached to and around the respective longitudinal slots of the grill assembly. An end of the contaminant removing member is connected to a rack that extends upward from the connected end. The rack engages a pinion with a gear portion disposed in the cyclone body. The gear portion of the pinion is meshed with a gear portion of the rack. The pinion is also connected by a shaft to a knob that is positioned outside of the cyclone body.

[0016] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of longitudinal slots in the grill assembly include at least two opposing slots which serve as guides for the contaminant removing member. The contaminant removing member comprises a cylindrical body with at least one rib that is inserted into a corresponding one of the opposing slots in the grill assembly to enable the contaminant removing member to move upward and downward along the grill assembly via the rack and pinion connection. The contaminant removing member also includes a brush member that is attached to an inner circumference of its cylindrical body for making contact with the grill assembly to thereby clean the surface thereof.

[0017] The grill assembly also includes a conical contaminant reversal prevention plate, which is integrally formed with a lower end of the grill body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The above-mentioned objects and the feature of the present invention will be more apparent by describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention by referring to the appended drawings, in which:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner;

[0020]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0021]FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a contaminant removing unit of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner of FIG. 2 being assembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in greater detail by referring to the appended drawings.

[0023]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a contaminant removing or grill sweeper unit of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner of FIG. 2 being assembled.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cyclone body 100, a dust receptacle 200, a grill assembly 300 and a contaminant removing unit 400.

[0025] The cyclone body 100 is divided into an upper body 110 and a lower body 120, which are connected to each other by a plurality of screws 130. The lower body 120 has a first connection pipe 121 connected to an extension pipe 1 a at the suction port of the cleaner, and an air inflow port 122 interconnected with the first connection pipe 121. The upper body 110 has a second connection pipe 111 connected to the extension pipe 1 b at the body of the cleaner, and an air outflow port 112 interconnected with the second connection pipe 111. The upper body 110 also has a through hole 113 formed at a side. The contaminant-laden air, drawn in through the suction port of the cleaner, is drawn into the cyclone body 100 through the first connection pipe 121 and the air inflow port 122 in a diagonal direction. As a result, a vortex of air occurs in the cyclone body 100 and the dust receptacle 200, generating a centrifugal force that separates the contaminants from the air.

[0026] The dust receptacle 200 is removably connected to the cyclone body 100, for forming the vortex of air in cooperation with the cyclone body 100. The dust receptacle 200 also receives the contaminants separated from the air.

[0027] The grill assembly 300 is disposed at the air outflow port 112 of the cyclone body 100, for preventing a reversal of the contaminants of the dust receptacle 200 to the air outflow port 112. Such a grill assembly 300 includes a grill body 310, a plurality of longitudinal slots 320 formed on the outer circumference of the grill body 310 to form a passage toward the air outflow port 112, and a contaminant reversal preventing plate 330 in a conical shape which is formed at the lower end of the grill body 310. The grill body 310 is supported on the upper and lower bodies 120, 110 of the cyclone body 100 at its upper rim, and thereby, the grill assembly 300 is disposed at the air outflow port 112 of the cyclone body 100. The plurality of longitudinal slots 320 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the grill body 310 at a predetermined distance from one another. At least two opposing longitudinal slots 320 are formed such that these slots 320 also serve the function as a guide for a dust removing member (described later) when the dust removing member is moved upward and downward.

[0028] The contaminant reversal preventing plate 330 blocks the contaminants of the upwardly moving air in the dust receptacle 200 before the contaminants reach the grill body 310. Accordingly, the contaminants fall.

[0029] The contaminant removing or unit 400 removes the contaminants attached to and around the slots 320 of the grill assembly 300, and includes a contaminant removing member or grill sweeper 410, a rack 420, a pinion 430 and a knob 440.

[0030] The contaminant removing member 410 is movable in a longitudinal direction along the outer circumference of the grill body 310 of the grill assembly 300. The contaminant removing member 410 includes a cylindrical body 411, a brush 412 attached to an inner circumference of the cylindrical body 411, and a rib 413 arranged along the inner portion of the cylindrical body 411 by the same number as that of the longitudinal slots 320 that serve as the guide for the grill body 310. Here, the number of rib 413 can be four (4) as shown in FIG. 2, or 2 or 3, at a constant interval. Although this embodiment depicts the four (4) slots 320 serving as the guide, the number of the slots 320 can be varied to, for example, two (2) through four (4).

[0031] The rack 420 is extended upward, with its one end being fixed at the rib 413 of the contaminant removing member 410. Accordingly, as the rack 420 is pulled, the contaminant removing member 410 is moved upward and downward. The rack 420 has a gear portion 421 at one side thereof.

[0032] The pinion 430 is disposed at a certain position of the inner portion of the upper body 110 of the cyclone body 100. The pinion 430 has a gear portion that is meshed with the gear portion 421 of the rack 420. Accordingly, as the pinion 430 is rotated, the rack 420 is moved upward or downward, and as a result, the contaminant removing member 410 is moved upward or downward.

[0033] The knob 440 is connected with the pinion 430 with a shaft 441. The shaft 441 is protruded out of the upper body 110 through the through hole 113 that is formed at a side of the upper body 110. The protruding end of the shaft 441 is connected with the knob 440. Accordingly, as the knob 440 is rotated, and pinion 430 is rotated together.

[0034] According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a guide 340 can be formed at an inner side of the grill body 310, to guide the movement of the rack 420. It is preferred that the through hole 113 of the cyclone body 100 being sealed by a sealing 114.

[0035] The operation of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner constructed as above according to the present invention will be described below.

[0036] As the vacuum cleaner is operated, by the strong suction force generated at the suction port, the contaminant-laden air is drawn into the cyclone body 100 through the first connection pipe 121 and the air inflow port 122 in a diagonal direction. The drawn air is turned into a vortex, while moving down to the dust receptacle 200. During this process, by the centrifugal force of the vortex air, the contaminants are separated from the air and received in the dust receptacle 200.

[0037] Next, by the air current reflected upward from the bottom of the dust receptacle 200, the contaminant-laden air is discharged toward the cleaner body through the respective longitudinal slots 320 of the grill assembly 300, the air outflow port 112 and the second connection pipe 111. In this process, some contaminants, which are entrained in the upwardly moving air current in the dust receptacle 200, are hit against the contaminant reversal preventing plate 330 and reflected to the vortex air. Some large particles of the contaminants, which are still left after the contaminant reversal preventing plate 330, are filtered out at the longitudinal slots 320 and reflected back to the vortex air, and the air is discharged through the longitudinal slots 320 of the grill assembly 300.

[0038] In the process described above, as mentioned earlier, contaminants are attached to and around the respective longitudinal slots 320 of the grill assembly 300 and accumulated thereon. In this situation, as the user rotates the knob 440 formed at the outside of the cyclone body 100 toward the direction of arrow of FIG. 3, the pinion 430 is rotated, and the rack 420 is moved upwardly. Accordingly, the contaminant removing member 410 is raised to the position indicated by a phantom line of FIG. 3 along the outer circumference of the grill body 310. As the contaminant removing member 410 is raised, the contaminants at the respective longitudinal slots 320 are removed. When the knob 440 is rotated in a reversal direction, the pinion 430 is reverse-rotated, and accordingly the rack 420 is moved downward. Accordingly, the contaminant removing member 410 is moved downward to a position indicated by a solid line of FIG. 3 along the outer circumference of the grill body 310. When the contaminant removing member 410 descends, the contaminants are also removed. The removed contaminants are received in the dust receptacle 200.

[0039] With the cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, the contaminants at the longitudinal slots 320 of the grill assembly 300 can be removed very easily, with the dust receptacle 200 in position.

[0040] According to the present invention as described above, since the user can remove the contaminants from the longitudinal slots 320 of the grill assembly 300 very easily with the dust receptacle 200 remaining in the mounted position, the vacuum cleaner becomes not only easy to use, but also environmentally friendly as no contaminants float out during the removal of contaminants from the grill assembly 300.

[0041] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention should not be limited to the described preferred embodiment, but various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cyclone body comprising: a first connection pipe connected to an extension pipe adjacent to a suction port of the vacuum cleaner, a second connection pipe connected to the extension pipe adjacent to a body of the vacuum cleaner, an air inflow port interconnected with the first connection pipe, and an air outflow port interconnected with the second connection pipe, the cyclone body for forming a vortex with a contaminant-laden air that is drawn in through the air inflow port; a dust receptacle removably connected to the cyclone body, for receiving contaminants separated from the air by the vortex; a grill assembly disposed at the air outflow port of the cyclone body, and having a plurality of longitudinal slots formed in an outer circumference of the grill body at a constant interval from each other to form a passage toward the air outflow port, the grill assembly for preventing a reverse of the contaminants collected in the dust receptacle through the air outflow port of the cyclone body; a contaminant removing member movable along the outer circumference of the grill body to be moved upward and downward to remove contaminants that are attached to and around the respective longitudinal slots of the grill assembly; a rack connected with the contaminant removing member with an end thereof, and extending upward from the connected end; a pinion disposed in the cyclone body, and having a gear portion meshed with a gear portion of the rack; and a knob connected with the pinion by a shaft, and positioned outside of the cyclone body.
 2. The cyclone dust collecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of longitudinal slots comprise at least two opposing slots serving a function of a guide for the contaminant removing member when the contaminant removing member is moved upward and downward, and the contaminant removing member comprises a cylindrical body with a rib that is inserted into the at least two opposing slots and a brush that is attached to an inner circumference of the cylindrical body.
 3. The cyclone dust collecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grill assembly comprises a conical contaminant reversal preventing plate, which is integrally formed with a lower end of the grill body.
 4. A dust receptacle for a cyclone dust collecting apparatus of a vacuum cleaner comprising: a grill assembly adapted to be disposed adjacent an air outflow area of said receptacle, said grill assembly including a grill body with a filtering portion for filtering contaminant laden air; and a grill sweeper in movable engagement and in contact with said grill body for removing contaminants collected on said grill body.
 5. The dust receptacle of claim 4, wherein said grill body is cylindrical.
 6. The dust receptacle of claim 5, wherein said grill body comprises longitudinal slots to form said filtering portion.
 7. The dust receptacle of claim 4, wherein said grill sweeper is circular and extends annularly around said grill body.
 8. The dust receptacle of claim 7, wherein said grill sweeper comprises bristles to contact said grill body and remove contaminants therefrom.
 9. The dust receptacle of claim 5, wherein said grill body comprises longitudinal slots to form said filtering portion, and said grill sweeper is circular and extend annularly around said grill body.
 10. The dust receptacle of claim 9, wherein said grill sweeper comprises a radial rib to engage with one of said longitudinal slots of said grill body for providing movable engagement thereto.
 11. The dust receptacle of claim 10, wherein said grill sweeper further comprises a rack and pinion assembly, and a control knob for movement of said pinion to effect movement of said grill sweeper along said grill body.
 12. The dust receptacle of claim 11, wherein said grill sweeper comprises bristles to contact said grill body and remove contaminants therefrom.
 13. A grill and sweeper assembly for a one-way flow apparatus for filtering contaminant laden fluid, said assembly comprising: a grill with a filtering area through which the fluid flows; and a sweeper in movable engagement and contact with said grill for removing contaminants collected on said filtering area of said grill.
 14. The assembly of claim 13, wherein said grill is substantially cylindrical and said sweeper is substantially circular.
 15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein said sweeper is disposed along the outer periphery of said grill.
 16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein said sweeper comprises bristles in contact with said grill for removing contaminants therefrom.
 17. The assembly of claim 15, wherein said filtering area of said grill comprises a plurality of longitudinal slots formed therein.
 18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein said sweeper comprises a radial rib configured to engage one of said slots of said grill to provide movable engagement thereto.
 19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said sweeper is mounted on a rack in meshed with a pinion gear controlled by a knob, whereby movement of said knob results in longitudinal movement of said sweeper along said grill body. 